Accounting at Guilford

Today’s dynamic business environment demands that men and women be intellectually nimble and technically proficient.

At Guilford, our students study accounting in the context of the liberal arts. They develop sound analytical and communication skills and gain real life problem solving experience. Our graduates are well prepared to navigate the ever-changing landscape of theory, regulation and practice, yet they appreciate that the increasing complexity of industry and government will also require consideration of ethical, social and cultural issues.

Accounting is the language of all commerce and graduates of the program have gone on to careers in public accounting, industrial and governmental accounting. Some have used their skills and talents as agents of change, serving non-profits. Others have pursued graduate studies or used their solid financial background as a springboard to careers in banking and business.

150-Hour Requirement

Most states now require 150 semester hours of coursework to complete the educational requirement for a CPA license. Since Guilford students normally graduate with 128 semester hours of credit, the Department of Accounting offers a series of five two-semester-hour credit modules so that our students may graduate with 138 semester hours of credit. This program permits a full-time traditional student to register for an extra two hours of college credit (for free) in each of the last five semesters at the College. These modules are taught on DVDs and on an independent study basis.

The major advantage of the 138-hour program is that it allows the student to attend summer school for one summer, complete the 150-hour requirement and save the cost of a fifth year of college. Using this program, a Guilford student may graduate with a degree in accounting, sit for the CPA exam and complete the 150-hour requirement within four years and a summer of study.

Accounting

The increasing complexity of business, government and industry demands that able, well-educated persons be available to assume positions of responsibility. The preparation that accounting students receive at Guilford – the breadth of liberal arts – is designed to qualify them to cope successfully with today’s ever-changing environment. Graduates of the program can seek the challenge of a career in public accounting or respond to the demand for persons in industrial and governmental accounting. Others choose to use their accounting background as a way of joining the ranks of management in various organizations.

Degrees Offered

The Bachelor of Science degree is offered in accounting and forensic accounting.

Students who double-major in accounting and forensic accounting are required to have a minor outside the Department of Accounting.

CPA Examination

Guilford accounting graduates may sit for the CPA examination in North Carolina in the semester in which they graduate.

Accounting Majors

The accounting major provides a structure within which students gain exposure to the primary area of accounting and receive a basic grounding in statistics, economics, computers and finance. The entire major consists of 13 courses (52 credit hours): eight accounting courses and five Common Body of Knowledge courses.

Eight required accounting courses (32 credits)

ACCT 201

Introduction to Accounting - 4 credits

ACCT 301

Intermediate Accounting I - 4 credits

ACCT 302

Intermediate Accounting II - 4 credits

ACCT 303

Intermediate Accounting III - 4 credits

ACCT 311

Cost Accounting - 4 credits

Any three 300 or 400-level accounting courses (except for the following Forensic Accounting courses: ACCT 300, ACCT 320, ACCT 330 and ACCT 412)

The term “forensic” means “used in legal proceedings.” The two components of forensic accounting are litigation support and investigative accounting. The forensic accountant is the bloodhound of the accounting profession, sniffing out complex fraud shenanigans that other types of accountants often fail to detect. The preparation of students at Guilford is designed to broaden one’s critical thinking skills through exposure to a solid liberal arts education as well as technical training. Graduates of this program can seek a career in public accounting, internal auditing, corporate accounting, the FBI, the IRS or many other types of businesses that have established forensic accounting departments.

A forensic accounting major will provide students with the skills necessary to determine techniques to prevent and detect fraud, apply analytical techniques and computer digital techniques to detect fraud, provide expert interviewing skills of possible fraud perpetrators, and know the legal environment so one will be able to gather evidence legally and be capable of testifying as an expert witness in the prosecution of a fraud case.

A forensic accountant must develop a wide array of skills. One must be capable of analyzing potential fraud indicators, sniffing out evidence to support a fraud hypothesis, understanding human behavior that might lead to fraud, and displaying excellent oral and written communication skills. Guilford provides a liberal arts education that will develop all of these skills for a forensic accounting graduate.

The degree program consists of 12 major courses (48 credit hours) and four Common Body of Knowledge courses. These courses will not only prepare a graduate for entry into the marketplace but will also prepare the graduate to take the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE) exam as a recognized certification for this field of study.

Accounting Minors

The accounting minor provides non-accounting majors with basic accounting concepts and tools that can be applied to enhance the application and marketability of their liberal arts education. It also prepares them to understand and participate more effectively in the world of work and provides grounding in practical applications that will serve them well throughout their lives.

The minor in accounting is not available to accounting and forensic accounting majors unless the student has completed a double major or another minor.

The minor requires a minimum of 16 credit hours (four courses).

ACCT 201

Introduction to Accounting - 4 credits

ACCT 301

Intermediate Accounting I - 4 credits

ACCT 311

Cost Accounting - 4 credits

ACCT 321

Individual Taxation - 4 credits

Total credit hours required for accounting minor - 16 credits.

A student may petition to substitute an approved independent study relating to applicable work experience for either ACCT 321 or ACCT 311. The coordinator of the accounting minor must approve the substitution.

The forensic accounting minor provides students with the basic concepts and skills in fraud prevention, detection and investigations to enhance the marketability of one’s education with a strong emphasis on the liberal arts. The minor will also prepare students to face a world where fraud is commonplace. The ability to recognize the symptoms and be able to both prevent and detect fraud will serve the student well in any type of business.

The minor in forensic accounting has a basic prerequisite of Accounting 201 prior to taking the classes with the exception of the Introduction to Forensic Accounting.

The minor in forensic accounting is not available to forensic accounting majors.

The money and finance minor is a package of courses designed to prepare students to be successful in a wide variety of careers, including banking, investments and international business. The central skills that students learn in these courses are to read and analyze critically an organization’s financial reports and to think strategically about positioning an organization in the financial environment. The money and finance minor provides students with an introduction to the economic environment and basic economic, accounting and finance concepts, a complete introduction to the banking system and tools that can be applied to for-profit and not-for-profit businesses.

The minor enhances and complements major fields of study such as accounting, management and economics. It also prepares liberal arts students with the essential business skills that will enable them to move into a managerial career track later on. Former graduates of this minor have said it provided them with excellent basic preparation for graduate school in business administration.

Lucas Prillaman '16

“From the bonds and friendships I made on the soccer field and track, to the development I saw in myself in the classroom, I will be thankful for my time at Guilford as I know it has helped prepare me for this next chapter in my life.”

Read more about Lucas's success as a transfer student and how his Guilford education propelled him to a prestigious graduate program at Wake Forest University.

Aimee Uffelman '16

“My professors in the accounting department have become invaluable mentors and I have enjoyed participating in some of what Guilford College has to offer, including my internship with the Center for Principled Problem Solving. I love how much of a family everyone is here, especially the faculty.”

See how a Guilford education helped give Aimee the tools she needed to gain acceptance to the Wake Forest University Master of Accountancy program.